Organisational Culture: Lessons in Long-Term Business Success from Germany’s Mittelstand

What is the link between organisational culture and long-term, sustained business success? The evidence of the corporate culture at Germany's mittelstand companies might help answer this question.Mittelstand firms employ almost two-thirds of workers in Germany, so they are core to understanding the relative success of the German economy. They are also a core part of the German manufacturing sector, which still generates over 20% of German GDP. So understanding more about the approach taken by the Mittelstand firms provides useful insights for students considering how manufacturing in the UK might perform better in the future.Most companies in the mittelstand are family-owned. They are "not too big, not too small". Family control enables quicker decision-making and a longer-term perspective to be taken.Germans use the word "mittelstand" for the millions of middle-sized companies that form the backbone of their booming economy, and some in Britain reckon the model could teach UK industries a few lessons.Below are a three short videos which explain the mittelstand sector in Germany - packed full with useful evidence and insights for students!